Lee Chatfield, the former Republican Speaker of the Michigan state House of Representatives, is denying accusations that he raped his sister-in-law when she was underage, claiming they had a consensual extramarital affair.
Last week, Rebekah Chatfield, who is now married to Lee Chatfield’s brother, publicly came forward and accused the former Speaker of sexual abuse when she was 15. The age of consent in Michigan is 16.
“He destroyed me, and has controlled my life since I was 15-16, the past 10-11 years,” she told the the Bridge Michigan news nonprofit. “And I know the only way to get justice for this is to come forward and to file a criminal [complaint] against him.”
Rebekah Chatfield, now 26, told Bridge Michigan that she filed a criminal complaint against her brother-in-law last month with police in Lansing, Mich. She said Lee initiated unwanted sexual contact when she was a student at Northern Michigan Christian Academy, which shares a campus with the church where his father, Rusty Chatfield, preaches.
Before entering politics, Lee Chatfield, 33, taught at the school and coached soccer, Bridge Michigan noted.
Lee Chatfield’s attorney Mary Chartier said in a statement to Bridge Michigan, “Their affair lasted for years, but they were both consenting adults.”
“Mr. Chatfield deeply regrets the decisions he has made. It has caused great pain to his wife and family, and they are working through this together,” said Chartier. “But he did not assault this woman in any manner during their years-long adult relationship. He intends to vigorously fight these false claims.”
Aaron Chatfield, Rebekah Chatfield’s husband and Lee Chatfield’s younger brother, supported his wife’s allegations and claimed that Lee Chatfield had few moral boundaries when it came to women, frequenting strip clubs and conducting multiple extramarital affairs, which he witnessed as his brother’s unofficial driver
“Lee portrays himself as a family tradition, conservative guy who believes in the Bible and the Bible is so important,” Aaron Chatfield told Bridge Michigan. “No, it couldn’t be further from who my man was as a person.”